Gil Eanes Rounds Cape Bojador
Gil Eanes rounded Cape Bojador on the Saharan coast in 1434, on his second attempt, ending a psychological barrier that had stopped Portuguese voyages for a decade. Bojador is an unimpressive headland on the coast of what is now Western Sahara. What made it formidable was the combination of shallow reefs extending far offshore, heavy surf, red sand suspended in the water, fog, and a current and prevailing wind that carried ships south easily and made returning north appear impossible. Beyond it, sailors believed, lay the Sea of Darkness — boiling water, sea monsters, and a zone in which the sun was close enough to turn men black. Prince Henry had sent fifteen expeditions in twelve years and every one had turned back. Eanes was sent in 1433, reached the cape, and came home with the same report as everyone else. Henry sent him again the following year with an instruction to have no fear and to go beyond it. His solution was navigational. Rather than hugging the coast, he stood out to sea well before the cape, sailed south out of sight of land, and turned back east afterwards — the volta do mar principle that Portuguese pilots developed into the standard technique for the whole Atlantic. He found sand, no monsters, and picked rosemary as evidence he had landed. He returned the following year and went 200 miles further, and Portuguese voyages then advanced down the coast steadily. Slaving voyages began within a decade. He is the reason the Portuguese kept going, and the reason they thought the rest of the coast could be done.
- Year: 1434 CE
- Category: Political
